Personalized treatment for early lung cancer

	Tweet

Cancer vaccines and targeted therapies are beginning to offer new treatment options following surgery for patients with early stages of lung cancer, experts said at the first European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO) in Lugano, Switzerland (1-3 May 2009).

“Personalizing therapy is the key strategy for longer and better survival in lung cancer,” said Prof Paris Kosmidis, head of the second Medical Oncology Department at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece. “This is particularly important for early stage disease when following surgery, decisions about preventive therapy are based on specific prognostic and predictive factors.”

Prof Walter Weder, head of thoracic surgery at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, adds: “At the meeting, several research groups will present data from new and ongoing studies that show how existing treatments might be combined with targeted therapies and new cancer vaccines. We hope that these new treatments will provide further progress.”

In one poster presentation at the meeting, researchers describe the results of a study that sought to identify which patients are likely to benefit from an immune-boosting vaccine designed to help the immune system recognize MAGE-A3, a protein that is expressed on about 30% of lung cancers.

Studies have shown that the treatment can help patients avoid or delay cancer recurrence after surgery. At the conference, researchers will describe a gene signature that might predict which patients will benefit from the treatment.

“Because the benefits of vaccination will be limited to a subgroup of patients, strategies to define these patients by means of biomarkers such as a genetic signature are of major clinical relevance, as only these patients might be candidates for vaccination in the future.” A larger, phase III, trial of the vaccine is now underway.

The European Multidisciplinary Conference on Thoracic Oncology is organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS).

###

For media inquiries, please contact:

ESMO Press Office
Tel. +41 91 973 19 07
Fax +41 91 973 19 93
Mobile +41 76 305 82 68
E-mail

ESMO Online Newsroom

All information for press representatives, including a Complimentary Media Registration Form, press services and materials are available at http://www.esmo.org/newsroom/events.

ESMO Press Room

Room F
Phone +41 91 911 0442

Opening hours
Friday, 1 May 13:00 – 18:00
Saturday, 2 May 8:00 – 18:00
Sunday, 3 May 8:00 – 12:00

Contact: ESMO Press Office

41-919-731-907
European Society for Medical Oncology

RELATED STORIES:
Marijuana tied to precancerous lung changes   Genetic variations raise lung cancer risk for smokers and ex-smokers   Asian lung cancer patient survival exceeds Caucasians’ on multiple regimens   Eating Vegetables may significantly reduce your risk of lung cancer   Patients’ pretreatment quality of life can predict overall lung cancer survival   Lung cancer tied to family risk of other cancers   Lymph node dissection is not essential in small screen-detected lung cancers, new research shows   Lung Cancer Screening Encouraged for Smokers with History of the Disease   Tooth Loss Linked to Esophageal, Head and Neck, and Lung Cancer   Burning incense increases risk of respiratory tract cancers   Gene variations directly link inflammation to an increased risk for lung cancer   Brain Irradiation in Lung Cancer   Benefits of surgery for lung cancer unclear   Smac-ing lung cancer to death   Psychiatric symptoms can be first sign of cancer   New lung cancer test predicts survival   Women survive lung cancer better than men   Passive Smoke in Workplace Increases Lung Cancer Risk   Nutrients may be why some smokers avoid cancer   Mutation database helps personalized treatment of lung cancer   Heaviest Smokers Face Greatest Risk of Death After Lung Cancer Diagnosis   Age no bar to benefits of lung cancer chemo

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]